Members of the Senate's Aboriginal peoples committee are recommending the Liberal government hold back on legalizing cannabis for at least a year in order to address its potential for harmful effects in Indigenous communities.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has sent warning letters to companies that make e-cigarette liquid nicotine products look like candy and cookies.
The calorie theory of obesity has been perhaps one of the greatest failures in the history of medicine. Given the number of excess deaths caused by metabolic syndrome, you could argue that it is a bigger disaster than World War II. It is based on a com
plete misinterpretation of the energy balance equation.
Body fat gained = Calories In – Calories Out
This equation, known as the energy balance equation is always true. So, looking at this equation, people then say something like ‘It’s all about restricting the calories you eat’, or ‘All diets work by restricting calories’. On the Calories Out side, you hear things like ‘You should exercise more’. This is the standard Eat Less, Move More approach. Doctors, even so-called ‘obesity experts’ and various health professionals say stuff like this all the time, but they’re completely wrong. The problem is that they don’t even know why they’re so wrong.
The energy balance equation (which, yes, is always true) does NOT support the Eat Less, Move More approach. Huh? Let me explain. You can also watch my recent video from NBC here.
Let’s throw some numbers into the mix to make things more clear. Let us assume the baseline situation of stable body weight (zero body fat gained or lost) and 2000 calories per day intake.
0 Body Fat = 2000 Calories In – 2000 Calories Out
Calories Out is not just exercise. This is composed of 2 things – resting energy expenditure, or basal metabolic rate (BMR) and exercise. If you assume zero exercise, an average BMR is 2000 calories per day. This energy is used by the heart, lungs, kidneys, generation of body heat etc. Note that BMR is NOT under conscious control. You cannot ‘decide’ that your heart will pump more blood. You cannot ‘decide’ to generate more body heat. No amount of willpower will make your kidneys use more energy.
Exercise is generally a very small portion of the total daily expenditure, unless you are exercising multiple hours in the day. Consider a moderate exercise of 1 hour of moderate walking/ jogging, 3 times per week. Each walk burns approximately 100-200 calories. If you’ve ever exercised on a treadmill with a calorie counter, you’ll know how slowly that meter rises. That 100 calories used during exercise pales in comparison to the 2000 calories eaten on an average day. So, we can safely ignore the effect of exercise except for those who do in excess of 1 hour per day.
So, people suppose that if you decrease your caloric intake by 500 calories per day or 3500 calories per week, that you will lose 1 pound of fat per week assuming that 1 pound of fat contains roughly 3500 calories.
-500 calories = 1500 Calories In – 2000 Calories Out
Please take careful note that in order to lose body fat, Calories Out MUST remain stable. Must. Must. But this is precisely what we know to be FALSE for at least the last 100 years. BMR may increase or decrease 30-40%. This was shown as early as 1917, when studies showed that a reduction of calorie intake by 30% is quickly met by a decrease in BMR by 30%.
Dr. Ancel Keys showed much the same effect in his famous Minnesota ‘starvation study’. Despite the title, subjects were given 1570 calories per day, more than most weight loss regimens being prescribed today. A drop in calories eaten by 40% is met with a 40% drop in BMR.
The reason for this is simple. Your body is very smart and does not want to die. If you do not alter your hormones (predominantly insulin), you won’t be able to access your fat stores. If you can’t get energy from body fat, then then you cannot run an energy deficit forever. If you are only taking in 1500 calories, you can only spend 1500 calories.
So BMR drops. We’ve known this for over a century. If you cut a few calories every day, your body will burn less calories and you will not lose fat. Weight loss plateaus and then you start to regain weight. So, counting calories, as a strategy for weight loss, has been proven over and over again to fail.
Strategies that lower insulin, however (Low Carb, Intermittent Fasting) are completely different. By lowering insulin, we tell our bodies that there is no food coming in. Therefore, the body switches from burning the calories from food, to burning the calories from our body fat. Our body wants to burn 2000 calories, but it just gets them from body fat instead of food. Instead of restricting energy (calories), our body is switching fuel sources, from food to stored food (body fat). But this can only happen if we correct the underlying hormonal problem of excessive insulin. So is ‘Calories In Calories Out’ totally useless? Well not totally.
You may have heard of or received an email offer for the Nigerian Phishing (email fraud) scam. The story goes like this. A few years ago, some crooks would send out millions of emails to potential marks (victims). The emails would say that they were an exiled Nigerian prince that was forced to flee out of his home country. He had $10 kajillion dollars in the bank and offered to split it with you if you would only give him your banking information. In other scams, the crooks would ask for money. Send them $1000 dollars and then they could go to the bank, retrieve their $10 billion and give you $2 billion as a thank you. The scam became well known as a fraud and most people recognized it immediately so they simply deleted the email.
However, contrary to what you might expect, the scam did not disappear. I still receive these emails on a regular basis, and they even keep the Nigerian prince rather than change it to, for example, an Indonesian princess. Since almost everybody has heard of this scam, what was the point?
Crooks could immediately identify potential marks by sending out this particular scam. If the crooks made up a new scam, they would receive many replies to their email, but most of them would not be gullible enough to hand over actual cash. By keeping the Nigerian prince scam, they could immediately and efficiently identify the most gullible people who would hand over cash. In this way, the Nigerian prince scam is a great marker for gullibility.
The Calories In/ Calories Out (CICO) model performs the same task for me. The CICO model has been tested over and over again. Multiple trials have shown it to be a complete failure. If somebody vociferously defends the CICO paradigm, I can immediately and efficiently identify them as people who have not really understood what causes obesity, and have no serious grasp of the physiology behind weight gain. These are the people who keep parroting ‘A calorie is a calorie’, as if I had asked them ‘Is a calorie a calorie’? The question I ask is ‘Are all calories equally fattening’, to which they usually stare blankly at me, before replying ‘It’s all about calories’, as if the body had any actual method of measuring calories.
The CICO model very useful because it efficiently flags idiots people who are not all that knowledgable about obesity, and I can safely ignore them. There are many of these people out there, and not everybody is worth listening to.
The post The Failure of the Calorie Theory of Obesity appeared first on Intensive Dietary Management (IDM).
Guacamole, with its smooth, creamy texture and refreshingly delicious flavor, makes for a divine dip or sandwich spread.
And while this tasty dish serves up lots of nutrients your body needs like healthy fats and fiber, it’s ridiculously easy to overeat. And too much of a good thing can start to be not-so-good for your waist line. That’s why we’re serving up this lighter version of the classic guac recipe. It uses fat-free Greek yogurt and goes extra heavy on the veggies, which means you can eat more of this tasty treat than typical guacamole!
And while we’re pretty sure guac-aholics will love the fact that they can eat more of their favorite snack, that isn’t even the best part about this healthy guacamole recipe. The thing that makes this the best guacamole recipe ever is the addition of one surprising ingredient… pineapple! By adding this sweet tropical fruit to your guacamole, you’ll get a touch of sweetness that pairs quite nicely with the lime juice and cilantro.
Not a pineapple fan? Feel free to leave it off… the recipe is still tasty on its own. Pair it with your favorite crunchy veggies, or use a SmartCarb like whole grain crackers or whole wheat pita wedges and dip away! Here’s how to make it:
Ingredients:
3 avocados
1.5 cups plain fat-free Greek yogurt
3/4 cup tomato
2/3 cup red onion
2 Tbsp. cilantro
3 cloves minced garlic
3/4 cup pineapple
Juice from one lime
Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, mash avocados with back of fork.
2. Add yogurt and stir until well-mixed.
3. Add all remaining ingredients and stir to blend.
Servings:
Makes about 8 cups
Counts as:
A half cup counts as ½ PowerFuel and ½ Extra
The post How to Make the Best Guacamole Ever appeared first on The Leaf.
If you’re anything like me, you are a bargain hunter through-and-through. I love a good deal, and I pretty much only buy things when they are on SALE!
IdealShape is holding it’s Spring Clearance Sale right now, and I have been scoping out the deals. I want to help you get the best bang for your buck at the Spring Clearance Sale! Here are my FAVORITE bargain items from the sale–I hope you find something you LOVE!
Sometimes, my version of meal prepping is throwing a few of these on-the-go packs of IdealShake in my bag and calling it good. The 20 Count Meal Variety Pack is literally perfect for the busy, on-the-go person who also wants to lose weight!
My favorite part about this smokin’ deal is that you get to try so many different flavors of IdealShake. Plus, you save $29.99, and we are all about those savings.
This bundle is pretty much the equivalent of going grocery shopping–for an ENTIRE month. Yes, please! With the Weight Loss 30 Day Bundle, you get 2 tubs of IdealShake, 4 boxes of IdealBars, smoothie recipes, along with the IdealPlan and the 7 Day Guide to Weight Loss!
What I’m trying to say is that it will be hard to NOT lose weight with this killer deal. You get all of that while saving 83 bucks if you purchase it during the Spring Clearance Sale! I’d suggest grabbing one of these babies quick, because they are sure to go fast.
I’ll be honest–I wasn’t always a huge fan of oatmeal. That is, until I tried IdealOatmeal. Now, I can’t get enough!
IdealOatmeal is filling because it’s packed with protein and fiber to help you stay full and satisfied. It supports your weight loss goals and fits right into any meal plan! Plus, you can snag IdealOatmeal in either Male & Brown Sugar or Cinnamon Apple during the Spring Clearance Sale for three bucks off! Woohoo, pick up that deal today.
So you guys know what I’m grabbing during the IdealShape Spring Clearance Sale, but what are you going to get?
IdealShape is all about transforming and improving your life, which is why we want to help you choose the products that fit your weight loss goals. No matter what your goal is, IdealShape is there to help you on your journey!
The Spring Clearance Sale is LIVE and you are not going to want to miss it! Grab all your favorite IdealShape products at big discounts! Lose weight the budget-friendly way, and hit up the Spring Clearance Sale today.
The post Get the Most Bang for Your Buck at the Spring Clearance Sale appeared first on IdealShape.
Lewis Kay, a Toronto researcher who developed a technique to watch microscopic proteins reposition themselves and change their shapes within cells, has won the $1 million Herzberg Gold Medal, Canada’s top science prize.